The Quiet Grandmaster's Return

The rain falls heavily as the story opens on a bleak academy funeral. Veldin Ojas stands at the back, trembling and avoiding eye contact. In his past life, Veldin was a peerless alchemy grandmaster who watched helplessly as his lover succumbed to the Charnel God's curse. Now regressed to his youth at the Grand Crucible of Vask, Veldin hides his immense knowledge. Shy but stubbornly clinging to his secret brewing techniques, he poses as an incompetent freshman, accompanied only by Tuhk, a loyal soot-homunculus. The narrative alternates between Veldin's quiet sorrow and the perspective of Kaspar Tarm, an arrogant prodigy senior who mercilessly bullies the freshmen and views Veldin as worthless trash. Kaspar's mockery knows no bounds - until a containment breach unleashes a Gravelmaw Chimera. As the massive beast lunges at a visiting child, Veldin drops his facade, tossing a single drop of a 'failed' potion that instantly transfigures the boss monster into harmless glass. Yet, a darker truth looms. The mysterious regression voice promises his lover's resurrection if he reaches the Pinnacle of Alchemy. Will Veldin realize that this ultimate reward is a trap designed to birth the Charnel God, or will his grief doom the world?